Again, if you haven't read my last post I'm forming a rock band. But I'm stumped! I can't seem to find a keyboardist who is interested in playing rock. All of the one's I've been finding are into gospel/church kind of music, none of them want to play rock. Any ideas on how to find a committed keyboardist who enjoys rock music? I've also tried putting out fliers in my local music stores but that hasn't worked yet.

I have one of these and to be honest they are not in the truest sense "Keyboard players" or "Pianists" - So ordering one of those -you are likely to get someone who likes to stab out Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3

The "thing" you need is a different breed

Yes the one I have, can play anything from "Journey to the centre of the Earth" by Rick Wakeman - to "Golden Brown" by The Stranglers ...but ....and here's the change....

....playing the keys is actually a SECONDARY function ...his primary function in life is to say the word "Keeewl" a lot... know everything about VCO's and VCF's that are in every Synthesiser known this side of ElPaso....to understand multi-layered MIDI addressing and MIDI patchbay configurations, know Pro-Tools like he created it, read about the technicalities in the next generation of Audio CODECs and try them out until 3:00am -- and then go on weekend long Star Trek conventions with his Tricorder,

Playing my Piano parts is a minor inconvenience that happens in the studio every now and then.

So if you want what YOU want ...your advert should read "Need girlfiendless MIDI nerd with a Masters Degree in being a complete musical gadget geek"

The low sociability factor and mullet come free of charge ...but you do get your paino and synth bits done

I have one of these and to be honest they are not in the truest sense "Keyboard players" or "Pianists" - So ordering one of those -you are likely to get someone who likes to stab out Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3

The "thing" you need is a different breed

Yes the one I have, can play anything from "Journey to the centre of the Earth" by Rick Wakeman - to "Golden Brown" by The Stranglers ...but ....and here's the change....

....playing the keys is actually a SECONDARY function ...his primary function in life is to say the word "Keeewl" a lot... know everything about VCO's and VCF's that are in every Synthesiser known this side of ElPaso....to understand multi-layered MIDI addressing and MIDI patchbay configurations, know Pro-Tools like he created it, read about the technicalities in the next generation of Audio CODECs and try them out until 3:00am -- and then go on weekend long Star Trek conventions with his Tricorder,

Playing my Piano parts is a minor inconvenience that happens in the studio every now and then.

So if you want what YOU want ...your advert should read "Need girlfiendless MIDI nerd with a Masters Degree in being a complete musical gadget geek"

The low sociability factor and mullet come free of charge ...but you do get your paino and synth bits done

Since Pianos are technically deemed percussion instruments (So I've been told) ... IF one learns the rudimentry theory of Piano playing and key banging, one can then proceed to kick some ass- ala Rick Wakeman style ...(I also like How Billy Preston worked the keys... Very simple yet very effective.)

IAmTheMusician wrote:Again, if you haven't read my last post I'm forming a rock band. But I'm stumped! I can't seem to find a keyboardist who is interested in playing rock. All of the one's I've been finding are into gospel/church kind of music, none of them want to play rock. Any ideas on how to find a committed keyboardist who enjoys rock music? I've also tried putting out fliers in my local music stores but that hasn't worked yet.

If you can find someone who got at least 2 years of keyboarding under their belt... they will likely step up because they will believe they have mastered the keys enough to rock on a stage. (Dont tell them any different and you will have a loyal band mate) ...In the end, you don't want Liberace...Instead, you want somebody with familiarity and moxey...That person will be your staunchest asset and will work hard to grow. All you need to do is to convey the criteria ( the condition for at least "2 years" of experience?)
in your ad.

You got me PaperDog, I've been playing piano a
little over 2 years. I didn'y learn to play in a band,
but rather to read standard notation. Standard
notation was made up with the piano in mind.
ie all the white keys make up the C major scale
(or it's relative minor Am), the keys are laid out
(black and whiye keys) to give you the proper
number of half steps in the C major scale, after learning
this the other keys are just a matter of transposition.

I play guitar in the group I'm in, but were going to add
some piano songs.

They're hard to find unless you wave a wad of cash and the promise of weekly gigs and tours at them. Even then they act like you just asked a supermodel out on a date. Then they tell you how busy they are with other projects.

So glad I learned to play years ago. Don't need 'em now. BAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! P

Like was said above, learn. Cheap classes at the community college or at your neighborhood adult school. You'll be so much happier for it and less the drama.

I guess I'm one of those rare, keyboard playing species that likes rock, blues, country, etc. I don't play anything other than piano and organ. Plenty to keep me busy. I've never really liked the prog rock thing, although I could probably fake it if I had to.

Although there are plenty of bands doing those genres in my area, you almost never see a keyboardist on stage (lots and lots of guitars, though), and -- when you do -- they're usually not out front as a peer, instead relegated to playing backup parts. I have never suffered that fate.

The 80s cover bands usually have someone doing synth lines, but that's sort of a different gig in my book.

At my age, when you were trained to play piano, it was all about exactly playing the little dots on the printed page. You'd always play alone, never in an ensemble with others. So I had plenty of peers who could rip through that impressive classical piece, but couldn't figure out what the hell to do with I-IV-V 12-bar blues jam.

Despite strong disapproval from my parents, I ditched formal training after a while, and decided I wanted to play with other cool kids my age. Like sex, music was far more fun with other people. The rest sort of happened naturally.

Sorry if this doesn't help you in your search. I'd agree with the poster who said "find a hardworking newbie". Keyboard players who focus usually get better quickly -- I've got two friends who started from scratch and are now reasonably proficient. Both took a few lessons to get the basics, and then ditched the music teach and started to play what they were hearing. And they put a lot of time into it -- just like learning a new language.

Better that than someone with good technical skills, but no sense of what it means to play along with others.

Go back to your other post and check out what Kramerguy and I said. Put together a really good ad, put it out there and you will probably get some bites.

Keyboard players are out there. Not easy to find, but they do exist. But like Chuck said, many can play their ass off alone but have no idea how to deal with a band situation. I agree with the comment already made, keep an eye open for someone in the intermediate range, 2 years or so, that may be a very good idea.

I'm a member of the BOMB SQUAD.
If you see me running, better catch up!

As a weekend warrior keyboard (and bass) player, make sure whatever ad you use to drum up talent really spells out the kind of music you are into, make sure to have a set list ready to share at a moments notice. Keys players ARE out there, but they are a picky lot, and most are very happy to provide the "icing on the cake" for your band's sound, as long as they are into the same music as the band leader. I would not recommend trying to fit a jazz cat into a rock band, or vice versa.

I didn't read the other thread, so I'm pretty sure if you say things like "we need you to be the last missing piece in our southern rock cover band" or whatever, will be better received than - "startup cover band, need guitar, bass, drums, oh yeah, and keys too".

Wow, just stumbled upon this post, Pretty funny comment about the antisocial geek, which is kind of true, if you want a keyboardist that can program different synth sounds.

As a keyboardist, I do have some ideas as to why finding a keyboardist is hard. I don't hang out in forums with other instrumentalists, so I apologize in advance for any assumptions, insults and short sighted comments. I don't play other instruments, so it is likely that my viewpoint is limited. Please correct me where needed.

Problem #1 - The teaching community is geared towards classical sight reading. Eight years of classical training in my youth gave me ZERO skills to play live and understand basic music theory. The classical music approach was just notes on a page. On the other hand a guitar player learns chords, which teaches structure.

Problem #2 - The piano is just damn hard. I have a friend who plays bass, guitar and piano. He says that it would take him 6 months to be able (not good) to play bass in a band, 2 years on guitar and 5 years on piano. Think of it this way. Playing a chord in the right hand is like rhythm guitar, noodling notes on the right hand is soloing, or lead guitar (although you might try more than one note at a time). The left hand is the bass player, and the percussive nature of piano allows it be be the drums. To be a competent pianist you have to learn 3-4 instruments, and they all have to blend together. This is hard enough to do with just one instrument, let alone three+. I have been at my craft for 10 - 15 years and only feel that I am just starting to be able to put it all together.

Problem #3 - From my perusing keyboard forums, keyboardists find that many bands play too much and too loud. One of the jokes is never join a band with two guitarists, because there is no sonic room left. Yes just one electric guitar can annihilate, the sonic landscape, they have to be used judiciously. I know I feel that my bands often play way too loud. I am shocked when they can't hear me. They tell me to turn up, I tell them to turn down. Maybe us keyboard players are more introverted, non team players, who knows.

Problem #4 - Do we really have to play strings, sound FX, horns, organ, synth, piano, rhodes, etc. Why is it not the guitarists responsibility to play the horns? You can get a midi pickup for your guitar and use virtual instruments as a guitarist to play anything. Well to do this, as the post above suggests, we need to be computer nerds, fortunately I am one. Fortunately I can sing. But it always makes me laugh when I see a post looking for a keyboardist with all of these additional skills, like needs to be able to sing like freddy mercury and program a synth. Each skill in its own is an accomplishment, the combination is hitting the lottery.

Problem #5 - Maybe in our culture, we are loosing the focus on learning piano. In my opinion, it takes a minimum of about 10 years at 2 hours a day to be a competent pianist. With so many distractions, and other forms of entertainment, there maybe less kids coming up through the ranks. Why spend so much time when I can just rip a few chords and be a guitar hero? I am being somewhat, facetious, yes, but guitar or bass is probably more rewarding, with less work involved and our culture has moved more toward instant gratification and fame.

Combine all of the above and the end result is that you have 20 guitar players for every one keyboardist. And those that can "play" keyboard, probably are only good for one hand at a time. So they really aren't fully developed keyboard players.

Problem #6 - We want a challenge, Because a fully developed keyboard player, can be the bass, drums, rhythm and lead guitar, there is so much opportunity for us within a band. Yet often times, with many bands the keys just become an afterthought, and we don't want to have to just turn up to be heard. This leaves a talented keyboard player feeling bored in a typical band setting, unless there are some concrete challenging parts for the keyboardist. Then if you can sing on top of it, you don't even need a band.

As a side note, I do agree with getting a keyboard player that is new, and letting him grow. This does work, but only if the player invest lots of time.

As I said, I do not know the perspective of other musicians, so where I might be misguided, please feel free to correct me or add to the conversation.

I agree with most of what you've said. Keyboarding is a dying art, only because it goes beyond piano play in my opinion. Manipulating sound is no easy task. To me, a piano is a keyboard with only one sound...that's if ts even in tune; which I believe created the evolution of the keyboard itself. We were more creative than just one sound...or one instrument. We branched out.

The part that confuses me is why bury a method that generated so many hit recordings. Can you imagine the music industry without the keyboard? Scary but true. Still, it will never truly die as an art form...if done correctly.

Don't kid yourself. Guitar is a torture device to try to learn. That's why there are so many collecting dust in pawn shops and closets everywhere. Been looking for a keyboard player for years. Not​ even one has approached me. Besides cover bands, which I don't do.

Keep at it, tho. You come up with that next big thing, boom!

Here comes Treble!

meezerpocalypse/ Pallas - Both The Price And Reward For Incarnation (Sublimation Mix By Meezerpocalypse) on the cloud of sound

Great Thread ... Keyboardists all suffer Egos but the good ones have something to base theirs on. I liked what everyone stated... the nerd one was most excellent. I have had them before and am looking for one now. I have always found it much easier to get a GirlFriend than one of them. My only advice is that ... get one that does not sing but only plays as in my experience they are the best. Good luck to you. The best one i have had thusfar I met in a Laundromat ... so go figure. Be persistent and try not to become discouraged ... easier said than done however as we all seem to know.